The invention relates to extracorporeal blood treatment systems and particularly to connecting a releasable blood circuit to a blood treatment console. The invention may be applied to determine or verify the type or size of disposable extracorporeal circuit coupled to a blood treatment console.
An extracorporeal blood treatment system may include a blood treatment or blood collection console (referred to herein as a blood treatment console) and a disposable blood circuit that connects to the console. The blood circuit typically includes all or a portion of a blood passage having an access line (such as a flexible plastic tube, conduit or other liquid passage) into which blood is withdrawn from a patient and a return line through which treated blood is infused to the patient. The blood circuit is typically releasably connected to the blood treatment console.
The blood treatment console may be used with various types of blood circuits, such as adult and non-adult, e.g. pediatric, blood circuits. When a blood circuit is attached, the console should be properly configured manually or automatically to operate with the attached blood circuit. The operational settings for the console may depend on the type of blood circuit that is attached. For example, the pump speed for moving blood through the circuit and pressure levels in the circuit may differ for an adult blood circuit and a non-adult, e.g. pediatric blood circuit. Operational settings appropriate for one type of blood circuit may not be appropriate for another type of blood circuit.
The operational settings for a console may be set manually by an operator, such as by nurse or other health care provider. The console may offer the operator a selection of settings and prompt the operator to enter operational settings for a blood treatment to be performed on a patient. The console operator typically presses buttons, soft keys, a touch screen or other input devices on the console to select the operational settings appropriate for the blood circuit and patient. The operator also loads the blood circuit onto the console, such as by connecting blood lines in the circuit to the console. The operator may also connect the blood lines to the patient, such as by connecting the access and return blood lines to catheters or needles inserted in the vascular system of the patient.
The console operators are generally medical professions who are trained in the operation of the blood treatment system, especially in how to select the correct operational settings for the console and the proper the blood circuit. Nevertheless, there is a possibility that the operation settings for one blood circuit may be inadvertently used for a different type of blood circuit.
It is important that the operation settings inputted to or automatically selected by the console correspond to the type of blood circuit connected to the console. For example, when a pediatric blood circuit is connected to the console the operational settings of the console should be for a pediatric patient.
Certain techniques have been published to detect the type of blood circuit attached to a blood treatment console. By way of example, WO 2008/125894 and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0114005 disclose techniques for detecting the type of blood circuit attached to a blood console. An apparatus for controlling an extracorporeal system, including automatically selecting proper console settings, is disclosed in WO 2006/123197. Even with these existing techniques, there remains a need and desire for devices and methods that accurately, simply and quickly detect the type of blood circuit connected to a blood console or verifying that the blood circuit connected to the console corresponds to the operational settings of the console.